International Journal of Health Sciences and Research

www.ijhsr.org ISSN: 2249-9571

Original Research Article

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Problems in Cricket Players

P. Sathya1, Roshni Nilesh Parekh 2
1
Assistant Professor, 2Physiotherapy Student
D .Y. Patil University, School of Physiotherapy, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India.
Corresponding Author: P. Sathya

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to find the prevalence of musculoskeletal problem in club level male
cricket players.
Methodology: A cross sectional survey was carried out on 125 club level male cricket players using
Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to find the prevalence of musculoskeletal problem in
cricket players.
Result: Out of 125 cricket players investigated, 76 (61%) players experienced cricket-related
musculoskeletal problems within last 12 months. Lower back, ankle and knee are the 3 most common
areas of problems in cricket players. The rate of musculoskeletal problems was more in all-rounder’s
(70%) followed by bowlers (60%) and batsman (42%). Strain and sprain were the two most common
(42% and 26%) type of injury among cricket players.
Conclusion: This study concludes that there was 61% prevalence of musculoskeletal problems in
cricket players. Lower back was the most commonly injured body part followed by ankles/feet, knees
and hips/thighs. Musculoskeletal problems were more common in all-rounder’s compared to batsmen
and bowlers. Ankles/feet were the most commonly affected area in all-rounder’s, low back area was
commonly affected in bowlers and batsmen followed by other areas. This study also concludes that on
the basis of type of injury, strain and sprain are the most common types of injuries in cricket players.

Key Words: Musculoskeletal problems, Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Cricket

players.
INTRODUCTION
Cricket is the most popular sport in
India and is gaining in importance in all
south East Asian countries. Its expansion
over the past decades has placed greater
demand on cricketers due to increased
playing hours and increased performance
expectations. [1] Cricket is a dynamic sport
that involves many abstract skills and
movements. To enhance these skills and
movements, many players ensure that their
bodies are kept fit and strong. [2-4] There are
three unique aspects of the game (bowling,
batting and fielding) which are associated
with risk of injury. [3,4] Musculoskeletal pain
can occur in various ways while playing
cricket: a player being struck by a ball or
bat, rapid rotational movements, sliding and
diving, collisions with other players and
overuse injuries. [5-8] Stretch et al. reported
that the lower limbs (50%), upper limbs
(23%), and back and trunk (23%) were most
commonly injured in South African
cricketers. [7] Milson et al. reported that in
South African schoolboy cricketers 34% of
injuries were sustained to the upper limbs,
34% to the lower limbs and 31% to the back
and trunk. [8] There are studies that states
that in cricket players with shoulder injury
grip strength is affected [9] even type of
bowling in cricket affect foot posture which
may eventually lead to foot and ankle
injury. [10]

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 P. Sathya et al. Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Problems in Cricket Players

There are many studies available at
international level on injuries faced by
cricket players but only very few studies are
available in India. Thus the purpose of the
study was to fine the prevalence of
musculoskeletal problem and prevalence of
type of injury based on the role of play in
the club level male cricket players.
METHODOLOGY
 Study Design: - It is a cross-sectional
survey study.
 Study Setting:-
Shivaji Park cricket ground
Goregaon Sports Club
Payyade sports club
D.Y. Patil Sports Academy
 Sample size: - 125 cricketers
 Inclusion criteria:-
Male cricket players of the age 19-26
years
Playing experience of minimum 3 years
with regular practices
Club level players
 Exclusion criteria:-
Players less than 19 years of age and
more than 26 years.
Players who have an experience of less
than 3 years.
Players who do not practice regularly
Ethical approval: The study was approved
by Institutional Ethics and Research
committee of D. Y. Patil University. Written
informed consent was taken from all players
and their identification information which
was collected during the study was kept
strictly confidential.
Procedure: 125 male cricket players were
selected after inclusion and exclusion
criteria. The players were made aware about
the purpose of the study. Each components
of Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal
Questionnaire was explained to each and
every player. Players were asked to recall
the injuries they sustained in last one year
i.e January 2016 to December 2016 and,
Injury information was collected as:
Anatomical site of injury (Head, neck,
shoulder & arm, elbow & forearm, wrist &
hand, back, hip & thigh, knee & leg, ankle
& foot) and category of injury (Sprain,
Strain, fracture, dislocation & other injuries)
and the role of the player (Batsman, Bowler
and All-Rounder) the answers were noted.
The information obtained from the scale
was analyzed using simple percentages and
graphs.

RESULT
Prevalence of Musculoskeletal problems in Cricket players
One or both Ankles/Feet
One or both Knees
One or both Hips/Thighs
Lower Back
Upper Back
Wrists/Hands
Elbows
Shoulders
Neck

0 5 10 15 20 25

Graph 1: Prevalence of Musculoskeletal problem in cricket players

Inference: The above graph shows (24%), Knees (22%), Hips/Thighs (21%),
prevalence of musculoskeletal problems in Shoulders (12%), Wrists/Hand (12%),
cricket players. The anatomical sites of pain Elbow (5%), Neck (1%).
were Lower Back (29%), Ankles/Feet

International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) 211

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 P. Sathya et al. Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Problems in Cricket Players

Graph 2: Prevalence of Musculoskeletal problem in all rounders

Inference: The above graph shows
prevalence of musculoskeletal problems in
all-rounder players. Out of 57 All Rounder
players, 39 (68%) players experienced
cricket-related musculoskeletal problems
within the last 12 months. The anatomical
sites were: Neck 1 (3%), Shoulder 4 (10%),
Elbows 1 (3%), Wrist/Hand 5 (13%), Upper
back 0 (0%), Lower back 9 (23%),
Hips/Thighs 10 (26%), Knees 11 (28%),
Ankles/Feet 12 (31%).

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal problems in Bowlers

One or both Ankles/Feet
One or both Knees
One or both Hips/Thighs
Lower Back
Upper Back
Wrists/Hands
Elbows
Shoulders
Neck

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Graph 3: Prevalence of Musculoskeletal problem in bowlers

Inference: The above graph shows Prevalence of Musculoskeletal problems in

prevalence of musculoskeletal problems in Batsmen
the bowlers. Out of 42 Bowlers, 25 (60%) One or both Ankles/Feet
One or both Knees
players experienced cricket-related One or both Hips/Thighs
musculoskeletal problems within the last 12 Lower Back
Upper Back
months. Neck 0 (0%), Shoulder 4(16%), Wrists/Hands
Elbows 2(8%), Wrist/Hand 2 (18%), Upper Elbows
Shoulders
back (0%), Lower back 8 (32%), Neck
Hips/Thighs 3 (12%), Knees 6 (24%), 0 1 2 3 4
Ankles/Feet 5 (20%).
Graph 4: Prevalence of Musculoskeletal problem in batsmen

Inference: The above graph shows

prevalence of musculoskeletal problems in

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 P. Sathya et al. Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Problems in Cricket Players
the batsmen. Out of 24 Batsmen, 10 (42%)
players experienced cricket-related
musculoskeletal problems within the last 12
months. Neck 0 (0%), Shoulder 1 (10%),
Elbows 1 (10%), Wrist/Hand 2 (20%),
Type of Injuries
Other
Fracture/Dislocation
Strain
Sprain
0 5 10
Graph5: Type of Injuries in cricket players
Inference: The above graph shows
prevalence of injuries according to type of
injuries in cricket players. Out of 125
cricket players investigated, 76 (61%)
players experienced cricket-related
musculoskeletal problems within the last 12
months. Out of these 76 players, 33 (42%)
had Strain, 20 (26%) had Sprain, 15 (20%)
had other injuries and 10 (13%) had
Fracture/Dislocation.
DISCUSSION
The study was done on 125 male
cricket players of age group 19-26 years.
The objectives of the study were (a)
Prevalence of musculoskeletal problems in
cricket players (Based on site of injury -
Nordic’s musculoskeletal questionnaire). (b)
Prevalence of musculoskeletal problems
based on the role of the player in the game
(cricket). (c) Prevalence of type of injury in
cricket players based on the role of the
player. Modified Nordic’s musculoskeletal
questionnaire was used to find the
prevalence of musculoskeletal problems in
cricket players in the last one year.
(a). Prevalence of Musculoskeletal injuries
in Cricket players :
Out of 125 cricket players
investigated, 76 (61%) players experienced
International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org)
Vol.7; Issue: 8; August 2017
Upper back 0 (0%), Lower back 4 (40%),
Hips/Thighs 3 (30%), Knees 0 (0%),
Ankles/Feet 1 (10%).
15 20 25 30 35
cricket-related musculoskeletal problems
within the last 12 months. According to the
graph 1 Lower back, ankle and knee are the
3 most common areas of problems in cricket
players. Low back pain (29%) is the most
common site of injury in cricket this could
be due to repeated hyper-extension of trunk
before releasing the ball while bowling,
certain shots while batting. [6-10,15,17,18]
Among the different role play in the game
all-rounder’s received maximum injuries
(70%), followed by bowlers (60%), batsmen
(42%).
 Prevented from doing normal work in
the last 12 months because of the
trouble:
The most commonly involved site in
preventing the players from doing
normal work in the last 12 months
because of the trouble is Hips/Thighs
followed by Ankles/Feet and Lower
back.
 Players who had trouble at any time
during the last 7 days :
The most commonly affected site
causing trouble in the last 7 days is
Lower back followed by Ankles/Feet
and Knees.
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 P. Sathya et al. Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Problems in Cricket Players
(b)The second objective is to find
Prevalence of musculoskeletal problems
based on the role of the player in the
game:
Out of 57 All Rounder players, 39
(68%) players experienced cricket-related
musculoskeletal problems within the last 12
months. According to graph 2 Ankles/Feet,
Knees, Hips/Thighs and Lower back are the
4 most common areas of problems in All-
rounder’s. Since they have to concentrate on
Batting, Bowling as well as fielding, they
are exposed to high levels of stresses in the
lower extremities and trunk. Hence lower
limb and trunk are most commonly affected.
[4-15]
Out of 42 Bowlers, 25 (60%) players
experienced cricket-related musculoskeletal
problems within the last 12 months.
According to graph 3 Lower Back, Knees,
Ankles/Feet and Shoulder are the 4 most
common areas of injuries in Bowlers. Lower
back injuries are most common in bowlers
because bowling involves repetitive
twisting, extension and rotation of the trunk
in a short period, at the same time body
tissues and footwear must absorb large
ground reaction forces of 4.1 to 9 times the
bowler's body weight. And lower limb
injuries to the knees and ankles are common
due to the heavy impact and twisting forces
while running before the bowling action.
Shoulder injuries in Bowlers tend to result
from throwing but can be aggravated by
bowling, because of the repetitive forces
involved. [3,10,14]
Out of 24 Batsmen, 10 (42%)
players experienced cricket-related
musculoskeletal problems within the last 12
months. According to graph 4 Lower back,
Hips/thighs, Wrist/hand are the 3 most
common areas of injuries in batsmen.
Batting involves rapid acceleration,
deceleration and sudden changes in
direction when running between the
wickets. These sudden running movements
often occur in between periods of relative
rest where the batsman repeatedly stands
flexed over their bat. This repetitive stooped
position can lead to lower back pain,
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Vol.7; Issue: 8; August 2017
particularly if the batsman is batting for
long periods of time. Hips/Thighs are
injured in Batsmen due to sudden
acceleration or deceleration movement
whilst running at high speed (such as
running between the wickets). Frequently
occurs in cricket when bending forwards
whilst sprinting, such as when sliding the
bat to complete a quick single and trying to
avoid being run out. Wrist/Hand injuries are
common in Batsmen due to overuse from
repeatedly gripping the bat too hard, the grip
size being inappropriate, the bat being too
heavy or an incorrect batting technique
being employed. [19]
(c)The third objective is to find Prevalence
of type of injury in cricket players based on
the role of the player.
According to graphs 5 strain and
sprain are the two most common (42% and
26%) type of injury among cricket players.
[4,7,12,15,16]
Strain was the most common type
of injury in Bowlers 15 players was
affected. Sprain was the most common type
of injury in all-rounder’s 13 players was
affected followed by other injuries and
fracture/dislocation.
CONCLUSION
The above study concludes that the
prevalence of musculoskeletal problem in
club level cricket players were more. Lower
back was the most commonly injured body
part followed by ankles/feet, knees and
hips/thighs. According to the role play in the
game the musculoskeletal problems were
more in all-rounder’s compared to batsmen
and bowlers. The study also concludes that
ankles/feet were the most commonly
affected area in all-rounder’s followed by
knees, hips/thighs and lowers back. Lower
back was the most affected area in batsmen
followed by hips/thighs and wrists/hands.
Lower back was the most affected area in
bowlers as well followed by knees,
ankles/feet and shoulders. The study also
concludes that on the basis of type of injury
strain and sprain are the most common types
of injuries faced by the cricket players.
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 P. Sathya et al. Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Problems in Cricket Players
Conflict of Interest: NIL
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